Question 1: Will a comet’s orbit by faster at perihelion or aphelion? Question 2: The semi-major axis of Halley’s Comet is 17.8 AU. How long does it take Halley’s Comet to complete one orbit around the Sun
pic comes first, and is this possible to do?
In the above graphic, b is the length of one side of the triangle, here defined as the “base”. If you drop a perpendicular from the angle opposite side b to side b, this is called the “height of the triangle”. The area of the triangle, called A, is related to the base and height using the equation:
A = (1/2) (base X height) = 0.5bh.
In the case where b = 10 cm and h =6 cm, A = 0.5 X 10 X 6 = 30.
Kepler’s Three Laws of Elliptical Planetary Motion are written:
- Planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun.
- The line connecting a planet with the Sun, called the Radius Vector, sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
- The Orbital Period of a planet around the Sun, P, is the time it takes that planet to complete one solar orbit. The square of P is equal is proportional to the planet’s semi-major axis, a. This is expressed using the equation:
P2 = Constant a3.
If the planet’s orbital period is the years (yr) and the planet’s semi-major axis is in
Astronomical Units (au), the Constant in the above equation is equal to 1 and the
equation becomes:
Pyr2 = aau3.
Kepler’s Second Law: Radius Vector Sweeps Out Equal Areas in Equal Times:
2ND pic
Table of Data for Kepler’s Second Law
Triangle Number Base Length (b) Height Length (h) A = Triangle Area ( bh/2) PE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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Average Area (Aav)
Please calculate average area by adding together all of the triangle areas and dividing by 8. To calculate Percent Error (PE) for each triangle area, use
(A - Aav)
PE = 100 ________ , where A is the area of each triangle.
Aav
Kepler’s Third Law: Pyr2 = aau3.
The table below presents the semi-major axis (a) and Actual orbital period for all of the major planet’s in the solar system. Cube for each planet the semi-major axis in Astronomical Units. Then take the square root of this number to get the Calculated orbital period of each planet. Fill in the final row of data for each planet.
Table of Data for Kepler’s Third Law:
Planet aau = Semi-Major Axis (AU) Actual Planet Calculated Planet
Period (Yr) Period (Yr)
__________ ______________________ ___________ ________________
Mercury 0.39 0.24
Venus 0.72 0.62
Earth 1.00 1.00
Mars 1.52 1.88
Jupiter 5.20 11.19
Saturn 9.54 29.50
Uranus 19.20 84.00
Neptune 30.10 164.80
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Question 1: Will a comet’s orbit by faster at perihelion or aphelion?
Question 2: The semi-major axis of Halley’s Comet is 17.8 AU. How long does it take Halley’s Comet to complete one orbit around the Sun?
Here is a scanned version of a reduced centimeter ruler. You may choose to use you own.
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